Three PA Arabs who were in the car, which was stopped near the PA Arab village of Sinjil in the Binyamin region, were taken in for questioning.

Earlier on Thursday, an Arab tried to jump a police roadblock in Samaria, continuing to speed ahead after police ordered him to stop – and was shot after he tried to run a police officer down.

The incident occurred on Road 55, outside Karnei Shomron. In recent weeks, the road has become a focus for protests by residents of the area against Arab rock throwing attacks. Numerous incidents of rock throwing have been reported near the adjacent town of Maale Shomron, which is next to the Arab village of Azzoun, long considered a trouble spot in western Samaria.

Israel’s security forces were also challenged by Gaza Arabs on Thursday, as two PA Arabs were wounded after being shot at by IDF forces near northern Gaza's border with Israel.

An official with the Hamas government in Gaza told AFP that one of the Arabs was in serious condition after being hit in the chest, while the other was in moderate condition. The incident occurred east of the town of Beit Hanun.

A spokesman for the IDF told the French news agency in response that "several Palestinians gathered near the security fence in the northern Gaza Strip, and began damaging the fence."

He added, “During the attempts made by IDF soldiers to distance the rioters, one rioter was injured by IDF fire."

Both European Union and United Nations officials have expressed concern over such incidents, calling on security forces to largely refrain from using live fire.

IDF regulations currently allow for live fire only in life-threatening situations. In two of the January deaths, those shot died of gunshot wounds to the legs that were meant to incapacitate rather than kill; in another case a woman may have been killed by a warning shot fired in the air.